Manage and maximize your time—spend time doing what matters. Don’t mistake activity for achievement. Being busy is not an indication of success.

Don’t be a one-man-band. Success requires working with, trusting, and collaborating with others. Success is amplified by synergy. Seek interdependence rather than independence by asking for help. Basically, play nice with others.

Play to your strengths. The more you develop and use your natural talents and skills the stronger they get. Doing what you’re good at leads to being happier and more productive.

Manage risk and protect yourself, your home and your business. Risk does not cease to exist because it’s ignored. Proactive risk management is much easier than reactive risk clean up.

Be willing to change direction. Did you decide at the age of five to be a dentist or superhero? How’s that going for you? As we grow, mature, learn, and experience life, our ideas and dreams change. Don’t be afraid to abandon the status quo or something that’s not working to forge a different path. Follow your inner voice.

Embrace your knowledge and skill gaps. Really, it’s OK not to be good at everything. If you’re talents and skills are in the creative realm, should you really be doing your own accounting? I think not. Don’t let your weaknesses become liabilities. Ask for help.

Never, ever stop learning—you will never know enough, even in your own area of expertise. Live to learn. The discovery process can be exciting—and it keeps your brain alive and healthy.

Make a decision already! People hate making tough decisions. They second guess themselves and seek endless input from others. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Build strong trusted relationships and value the people in your life. Money might make your way of life possible but it’s the people that make it worth living. Treat them accordingly.

Give back. Bad Karma can bite you really hard in the…well, you know where. You always get back what you give out. It’s like a boomerang. If you’re not doing right by the world, you should duck!

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF FAILURE! Seriously people. If you have lived more than a couple of decades and you haven’t failed at something you are not trying hard enough to succeed. Living a safe and risk-free life is boring. Just go for it!